A love letter to weed: Zach Smith turns cannabis photography into immersive art with ‘Things To Look At While You’re High’

Zach Smith has spent years behind the scenes helping shape how cannabis brands present themselves. Now, the Missouri-based creative is stepping forward with a project that reflects his own perspective on the plant, releasing a 4/20 coffee table book titled Things to Look at While You’re High.

The book, created under Altered Focus Studio, blends cannabis macro photography with collage-style visuals, humor, and surreal, layered compositions that invite readers to slow down and take a closer look.

Smith said the concept did not start out nearly as ambitious.

“Things to Look at While You’re High’ was originally supposed to be just mainly cannabis macros, like my studio work,” Smith said. “I have a large amount of cannabis images on my hard drives that aren’t licensed to anybody. No one’s using them. They’re just there being pretty.”

Initially, the idea was to assemble those images into a simple, visually appealing format. But when a planned collaborator stepped away, Smith was forced to rethink the approach. That shift pushed him into experimenting with new techniques and ultimately reshaped the entire project.

“I started cutting things out and making things that made me laugh,” Smith said. “Then it slowly started turning into, ‘I’m going to make a landscape made out of weed only.’”

What followed was a gradual expansion into something much more complex. The book evolved into a surreal visual environment, combining cannabis imagery with unexpected elements like aliens, animals, and constructed worlds that feel equal parts collage, pop art, and personal sketchbook.

“That limitation, I think, really helps make it more individual,” Smith said. “It’s like going back to grade school, cutting things out of magazines and making a collage.”

Rather than presenting a static collection of images, Smith approached the book as an experience. He said he wanted readers to feel like they were moving through something interactive, not just flipping pages.

“I knew I wanted the book to be conversational with the viewer,” Smith said. “I wanted it to be something different and something that kind of talks back to you.”

That intention shows up in the structure, which mimics a walk through a gallery, complete with visual callbacks, recurring themes, and moments that shift from humorous to strange without warning. The tone leans intentionally unpolished and unpredictable, reflecting both the subject matter and Smith’s creative process.

Personal elements also play a role. Smith incorporated images of his own pets throughout the book, using them as characters within the larger visual narrative.

“All of my seven little rugrats” appear in the project, Smith said, referring to his pets. He noted that his archive of animal photos became just as useful as his cannabis photography.

The project reflects Smith’s broader experience in Missouri’s cannabis industry, where he spent several years working in marketing roles before transitioning into full-time photography.

“I’ve been doing the commercial photography thing full time for about a year and a half now, and before that, I was a marketing director for about four or five years in Missouri,” Smith said. “So, yeah, about six or seven years since basically the beginning in Missouri.”

That background continues to influence his work, particularly as he looks toward more educational projects. Smith said his next release, A Rookie’s Guide to Weed, is designed to address the confusion and hesitation he has seen from new consumers entering dispensaries.

   

“I don’t want people to be scared,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of words that you don’t know when you walk into a dispensary and you can walk out scared to ask questions and with something you don’t need.”

The guide will focus on simplifying cannabis concepts, covering topics like consumption methods, plant basics, and common misunderstandings in a format that is accessible without losing personality.

“It’s a collection of information that smarter people than me have either told me or I’ve read, and me just kind of giving that to people in a dumbed-down version,” Smith said.

Alongside the book, Smith is also developing a companion journal that allows consumers to track products and experiences, helping them better understand what works for their preferences.

“It’s sort of like a weed passport almost,” Smith said. “You can go back and be like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve tried this.’”

As his creative output expands, Smith said he is also refining how he separates his work. Future commercial photography outside of cannabis will operate under his Zachary David brand, while Altered Focus Studio will remain focused on cannabis culture, creative projects, and direct community engagement.

“Altered Focus gets to kind of get its revamp as this fun space for me to share silly weed and psychedelic themed art and be able to share the cannabis knowledge that I’ve gotten over the years,” Smith said.

That shift allows Smith to return to what originally drew him to the plant and the industry, using creativity as a way to connect rather than just market.

“This was supposed to just be pictures of weed,” Smith said. “Now it’s something that actually feels like it means something.”

The book, along with a themed calendar and merchandise featuring artwork from the project, are available through Altered Focus Studio’s website.

Smith also plans to bring the project directly to consumers through dispensary pop-ups and community events.

“That was kind of what it was, man,” Smith said. “And then it just kept going deeper and deeper into it.”

Buy “Things To Look At While You’re High” here.